The Capital Development Authority’s (CDA) served yet another notice to the US embassy on Sunday for violating building rules.
A senior official of the CDA, requesting anonymity, told The Express Tribune that in addition to the warehouse in sector I-9/3, the civic body has identified three more sites where building codes are being violated by officials of the US embassy. The official said that a notice has been sent to the US embassy; however, he did not disclose the details of the violations.
US embassy Spokesperson Mark Stroh denied these claims, saying that no “illegal activities” are underway in any warehouse or official residence of the US diplomats. “Our offices are operating in the capital city with the approval of foreign ministry,” he said.
Earlier, the US embassy lodged a strong protest with the Foreign Office over the seizure of one of its warehouses in sector I-9/3 by CDA and a police team for “violations of building laws”. The US embassy told the Foreign Office that it was against diplomatic protocols for the police to occupy a foreign mission’s property.
(Read: US Embassy unhappy with civic agency’s ‘adventure’)
The US embassy spokesperson said, “It was a factory that was being renovated to turn it into a warehouse so that we can store extra supplies of furniture and other items of official use of the embassy.”
He said there were no bunkers being built or any “suspicious” materials being stored in the warehouse.
“We are negotiating the matter with relevant authorities for the restoration of the status of the warehouse,” he added.
A CDA official privy to the development said that the raiding team found concrete structures and signal jammers in the warehouse.
He said that the civic body raided and sealed the warehouse after the owner, Mehboob Elahi, started construction at the plot without getting approval from the CDA.
He said that Elahi, who is a director at International Beverages, had earlier sought to change his plot’s status from beverages to warehouse.
“We are following proper procedures and are giving reasonable time to the violators, including the US officials, to remove identified violations; but if they do not comply, we will have to follow the legal procedure,” he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 10th, 2011.
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